Who Are You Rachel Berry?
by sarahanne2001
Summary: Rachel Berry. Who is she? If you were to ask the Glee club they'd say she was the most annoying, spoiled diva you could ever meet. Some of the meaner ones might say she's a dwarf, loser, man-hands, or RuPual. Do any of the small minded people at McKinley High know the real Rachel Berry, or her secret? Of course not! Let's take an adventure and find out for ourselves.
1. The Beginning

_**Disclaimer, I own nothing**_

We start our journey in a small forest. To most people the forest looked just like every other forest in Ohio. There were trees, and plants, and animals scurrying around their homes. What most people didn't realize, was that this wasn't a normal forest. Not at all.

This forest was home to a race called the Pari. They are a small, averaging three inches tall, magical race that called the forest home. Many, many years ago they were spread out all across the land, with established kingdoms that mostly lived in tandem with each other. When the invaders came and destroyed their larger friends, the Pari went into hiding. For how could they defend themselves against invading giants?

After several generations of forced isolation, one brave adventure made the journey to the outside world. The invaders had started to cut down their cities, destroy their food, and kill their people. The Pari were starving by the hundreds and it seemed like nothing could be done. Luckily the adventurer made contact with the right people. With their help he was able to get large sections of forest protected from destruction. Now the Pari would be able to once again live in peace.

The adventurer eventually became the king of all the Pari in what the humans called New England. He had completely revolutionized how the Pari interacted with the outside world, and how they lived. Instead of passively allowing the outside world to pass them by, they were finally rejoining it, well only a little.

You see, the Pari weren't technologically advanced, but they had many things that the humans didn't. For one, they had magic. Every Pari could do magic from the time that they were born. Now, they all couldn't do the same things. Most could only light fires, make things grow, and speak with the animals. Around half of the population were good at healing, they could directly heal someone or make a potion for later healings. The most coveted magic, and the rarest, was the ability to change your size. Only around one in a thousand had this ability. The Pari aren't sure how this is passed down, and why some get it and others don't. Most importantly to the Pari is that everyone born in the Royal family has the ability to not only change their size, but the size of others.

This allows the select friendly humans to visit the Pari in their forest homes. There are only around two hundred people worldwide, for though the names are different the Pari exist everywhere, that know about the Pari. All of them first found out during childhood, when they accidentally stumbled upon an enchanted forest, for not all forests are enchanted. These people were granted access to the Pari cities, and in returne helped any Pari who decided to explore the human world.

At the moment the kingdom's only princess was trying to convince her parents that she needed to visit the human world.

"Mommy, Daddy I have met everyone in the kingdom that you've asked me too. I've spent time with each and every one of them, but none of them are the one. I don't think that I will find my intended here among our people. How am I supposed to get married without them?"

Her father sighed before taking his wife's hand, "Your Mother and I have actually been talking about this dear. We have had some of our best finders trying to locate your intended. They have finally narrowed it down to a small town bordering the Forest. That's why we thought it was one of our people, the finders before only got the general area."

The girl crossed her arms, and the angry breeze she generated ruffled her hair but didn't touch anything else, "Why wouldn't they look as hard as they could? This is the future of Adohi that we are talking about. If I can't find them within a year the kingdom will go to the Searc family. The last time they had the crown we went to war with the Deyka. Is everyone insane, they should all want to keep the Searc off the throne."

Her parents allowed her to finish her ranting, "Sweetheart, they started looking a long time ago. We were so sure it was going to be a nice Adohian that we never considered narrowing it down farther. Luckily you do still have a year, and the location was narrowed down to small town. We have a couple that lives there. You are going to go live with them, and go to the local high school. We're fairly positive that they go to this school, so you should do your best to put yourself in a position to meet them."

The couple smiled sadly at their only daughter. Even though she was an adult and more than capable of taking care of herself they still didn't want her to leave. They had tried for so long to have a child, and then along came their baby girl. She was their pride and joy, and they treated her like she was made of glass. It didn't help that she was a princess.

"You mean I get to go to the human world?" the girl said, "Wait, did you say I had to go back to school? I just finished all of my schooling."

"I know Dear, this is just the only way. Even though for our people you're an adult, for humans you're still a child." The man raised his hand to stave off objections, "I know it's not fair, but truthfully it's for the best. An intended is always around the same age. Meaning that if you're going to find your mate they'll be at school. You should feel lucky that you even have an intended. Most wonder around never knowing if there is someone out there for them."

The girl walked over to her parents and wrapped her arms around both of them. They pulled her into a tight hug.

"I just want to be able to find them, and come home. I don't much like the thought of leaving you. I mean what if you have a bad day, and I'm not around to cheer you up?"

The man stroked his daughters hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Thankfully you will only be a short distance away. You can come back and visit all the time. It'll be as if you never left. I promise dear, we will all be able to get through this."

* * *

Rachel had moved into the Berry household a week before school started. She was nervous about attending the Human high school. While she had gone to public school, she could never be sure who liked her and who didn't. Most people tried to be nice to her simply because she was going to be Queen. The only one who treated her like a normal person was Jessie, but he was next in line for the crown if she couldn't find her mate. Rachel flopped down on her bed content to wait for school. She didn't need it to hurry at all. She'd had a bad feeling about this since her parents told her where she was going.

* * *

It was the first day of school, and Rachel was nervous. She had only interacted with a handful of Humans before. Her parents kept her sheltered, perhaps a bit too much. As she walked down the hall's she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of bodies packed into the space. She was used to people giving her space as she moved, not pushing her around.

Finally a break in the crowd appeared and Rachel desperately made for it. It was a little discerning to realize at 38 that you were claustrophobic. In her haste to make it to the center of the hallway she didn't see the group of cheerleaders. That would explain why she ran into the leader of the pack. This gorgeous blonde sneered at Rachel as the force of the collision caused her to bounce backwards, landing on her rear.

"Watch where you're going man-hands." The blonde sneered after a moment's hesitation. The look of shock was fleeting, but Rachel had caught it. There had been a large jolt when they had touched. It had left Rachel breathless, but the blonde appeared to be perfectly calm as she took the slushy from the Latina girl standing next to her and casually tossed it into Rachel's face.

The crowd, who had been silent up until this point, burst out laughing. The blonde waved her hands, and the crowds parted again. It was only after she left that Rachel got up and walked to the bathroom. She had never thought that her mate would be someone so horrible. Someone so, so mean.

It took an entire class period for Rachel to stop crying. She felt devastated, and trapped. How was she supposed to make that monster fall in love with her? The Humans Rachel knew were sweet and gentle. They didn't throw ice at her, or laugh at her. Rachel vowed to send off a prayer to the Forest when she went home. She'd need all the help she could get.

Weeks passed and Rachel was no closer to getting Quinn to like her. She was standing in the bathroom wiping cherry slushy from her eyes for the 25th time since she started school two months ago.

"This isn't going to work. I have no idea what my parents were thinking. How could they expect this to work when I can't even talk to her?"

"Are you talking to the people in the mirror too?" Brittany asked as she came out of the bathroom stall.

Rachel jumped and whirled around, "Brittany! What are you doing in here? I thought this bathroom was empty. In fact I checked to make sure it was."

"Oh I know. I've been waiting for you all day. You always use this bathroom after you get slushied, and I heard Quinn talking about doing it again."

Rachel started moving backward as Brittany came forward. It wasn't until she was trapped in the corner that she realized what Brittany was doing.

"Uh, Brittany, why exactly were you waiting for me?"

"Because I know your secret."

"Wh-what secret? I don't have a secret. Someone has misled you."

Brittany slammed her hands against the wall on either side of Rachel's head, "Oww, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would."

"I'm sorry. Perhaps moving back a little would make them feel better. It sure would make me feel better."

"No, I'm good here. You're surprisingly squishy."

"Ahem. Well it's uh nice to know that I'm squishy, but weren't you telling me my secret?"

"Oh yeah, that. Lord Tubbington and I have been talking, like we always do, and we've determined that you're a Fairy."

The look of relief on Rachel's face was priceless, but Brittany just looked confused.

"Wait, no. Lord Tubbington said you're the Pari princess. Yes that's it."

"Wha-wh..," Rachel just stared at her. The blonde looked and acted so innocently. How could she know Rachel's secret when only the Berry's were supposed to know. What was she going to do? She still had to make Quinn realize that she loved her, and she couldn't do that with Brittany knowing.

"Shh. It's okay. I know I may sound and act like I'm stupid, but I'm really not. I just think differently than most people. That's how I know exactly who you are, and why I'm here."

"But how?"

"You see when I was five I followed my pet dragon into the woods. I got really lost and couldn't find my way home. Lord Tubbington came and helped me home. He said that I was going to be important and he was going to watch out for me. When he smokes he likes to talk about the forest. That's how I know about the little people who live there. It wasn't until you came into town that he realized what I was supposed to do. Also he wants to meet you. Stop by my house today after Glee. You can use your magic to locate me."

With that Brittany took the locket from around Rachel's neck and left the bathroom. Rachel slowly sunk to the ground still having a hard time processing everything that had happened. It was all surreal, but Brittany was too sweet for this to be a diabolical plot. Rachel actually hoped this was real because she needed a friend here and soon.

* * *

Glee that afternoon was awkward to say the least. Quinn, Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes all glared at her. Brittany was the worst though, she just stared at Rachel. None of the members, sans Brittany, seemed to know what to do with the petite girl. Rachel was to obviously different. Her style of speech suited the teachers better than her class mates, her style of dress was outdated and not stylish, and most importantly something was just different about her.

It only took Rachel a few seconds to take in the mood of the crowd before she moved to sit in the front row. As soon as she sat down the members in surrounding seats moved away. Half of the club didn't much care about the new girl, but their loyalties were with the original club members.

Rachel just sighed and pulled out her notebook. It had been two months and things had just gotten worse. They had seemed to like her until she sang her audition song. Mr. Schuester of course loved her instantly, and decided to design the sectionals performance around her voice. Rachel didn't want this, but Mr. Schuester didn't listen to her when she tried to talk him out of it. He never listened to any of the kids.

"Look at what the freak's wearing today. Do you think she got dressed in the dark?"

Everyone laughed at Quinn's comment. Rachel ducked her head pretending that she hadn't heard. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. It would have been different if anyone other than her mate had put her down. Love wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't her parents story or their parents. This was a horror story masquerading as a romance.

"You'd think her parents would have told her how hideous she looked, but they probably didn't want to look at her either." Santana replied in a bored tone.

The others laughed again, egging on the pair as they put down Rachel. They were tired of her getting to sing the songs they wanted. That and her 'I'm better than you attitude'. None of them realized that Rachel simply did not know how to act any differently. That was how she had behaved all her life.

"You all need to stop this." Brittany said as she stood up and walked down towards Rachel. "You don't even know anything about her. She comes here wanting to be accepted for who she is, just the way all of you did, and you treat her the way the jocks treat you. No one deserves this. That's what I thought we learned last year when we got the hockey players to stop dumping Kurt into the dumpster." She reached her hand out to Rachel as the club sat there shocked. They had never heard Brittany say anything cross.

Brittany helped Rachel pack up her things, "Let's go somewhere where no one is going to say mean things about you Rachie." She looped their arms and sauntered out of the room without once looking back. Rachel was too stunned to even protest.

"What the fuck just happened?" Santana asked what everyone was thinking.

"I'd like to thank you Brittany for helping me out back there, but it was completely unnecessary. Now they will think that I am even more different." Rachel said without picking up her head. School had been bringing her down since the first day. This stuff with Brittany had been the only positive thing to happen, and she wasn't entirely sure it was good.

"I did have to Rachie. They don't know what they're doing. It's mean and if they gave you a chance they would like you. No joke, cause I like you and I only like awesome people."

Brittany gave Rachel a thousand watt smile as she dragged the smaller girl to the parking lot. Not even Rachel was prepared for the hug she gave Brittany, but it was returned quickly.

"Thank you for wanting to be my friend. You've never once said mean things about me or laughed at what other people said. You're the reason I still have faith in the Humans." Rachel whispered into Brittany's ear as they hugged.

The two girls watching this exchange were not happy. "Mine" they both growled as they started to head down the stairs at the same time. It wasn't until they reached the bottom of the steps that they realized what they had said. They glared at each other.

"I hope you mean Brittany." snarled Quinn.

"Of course I do…. You've got to be fucking kidding me." Santana exclaimed grabbing Quinn's arm and jerking her to a stop, "Does this mean you like the fucking hobbit. The one we've been torturing for the past two months."

"Well I, uh I," Quinn stuttered, then sighed "It's not like I want to like her. I've tried everything I could think of to get her out of my mind, but it doesn't work. The only thing I know is that I don't want her, and no one else can have her."

"That's fucked up Q, but I don't want her with Brittany so what are we going to do."

"I don't know. I don't know why Brittany is sticking up for her. She never goes against us. We need to figure something out quick."

* * *

We leave the two HBIC's to follow our little princess and her shiny blonde knight back to the blonde's house. Rachel was still nervous, but the hug had helped alleviate some of her fears. Though she had questionable friends, Brittany had never done anything mean to anyone that Rachel could tell.

"I can't wait for you to meet Lord Tubbington. He's been demanding that I bring you to meet him. I didn't want to cause I thought you'd be able to handle things by yourself. Yesterday he told me that he'd start reading my diary again if I didn't bring you over. I really hate it when he reads my diary, and smokes. I don't know where he gets the cigarettes from."

Britt rambled while the princess stared out the window. She couldn't believe that she now knew a real princess. Best of all, no one else knew the secret. Brittany only had one other secret, and the only reason no one knew was because no one listened to her. Quinn and Santana had been her best friends since kindergarten. Brittany had always been different from the other children. When others left their "imaginary" friends behind, Brittany kept hers. She also saw the world through rainbow colored glasses. Even the worst things couldn't keep her down. This causes her to do and say some weird things. It also allowed her to befriend an Enchanted Forrest creature, and soon become a friend to the Pari princess. To say that Brittany was excited would be like saying the Mona Lisa was just a painting.

Brittany led Rachel up to her bedroom, where a large tabby cat was sunning himself on a seat by the window.

"Lord Tubbington, this is Rachel. She's the Pari princess we've been talking about. Rachel this is Lord Tubbington, or rather what he lets others see him as."

Rachel bowed to the seemingly normal cat, "How do you do Lord Tubbington. On behalf of the Royal family it is a pleasure to meet you."

Lord Tubbington moved towards the girls, and as he did his form changed. You could still see the cat in him, but he was more humanoid in his natural form. He was one of the Cats that lived in the depths of the forest. They weren't ruled by anyone, and never caused any trouble. There were no more than a dozen or so at a time, mostly because they had a hard time having children. Only ten percent actually came out as a Cat, the rest were normal cats.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Princes Rachel. I have seen much concerning you. I had begun to believe that you would never make it here. As it is you are almost too late, but never fear you have help on your journey. Myself and the young one will help you achieve your dreams as was seen many years ago."

Rachel stared at Lord Tubbington. While she knew all about the Cats she had never met one in person. They were famed seers, and she had never thought herself worthy enough to been seen. For all that she was a Princess, she was as normal as she could be. Only those meant to be legendary showed up in Cat visions.

"You've really seen visions of me for years?"

"Of course dear, you are going to be very important. The first time I Saw that was when I met the young one ten years ago."

"Yeah," Brittany explained, "I got lost really bad one time, and like all the trees just seemed to grow all at once. I couldn't find my parents, but Lord Tubbington here found me. He helped me get home, and he's stayed with me ever since. Though he does have a bad smoking problem, and likes to read my diary.

Lord Tubbington shrugged, "She just writes the oddest things down."

Brittany pulled Rachel over to her bed as Lord Tubbington went back to where he was when they came in. Brittany was more than capable of dealing with the hurting princess. She was the best medicine after all. No one left Brittany feeling bad.

"Do you believe me now Rachie?" Brittany asked when they were comfortable on her bed.

"Yes, and I'm really sorry for not trusting you when you stood up for me. I'm afraid that I'm not really used to dealing with people, and with the things that have happened these past two months…..," Rachel took a deep breath, "I just lost my faith in Humanity there for a second. Being surrounded by people who are nothing but cruel to me, started making me doubt who I am. You, though, you saved me. You are giving me the excuse to give Humans another try. You'll never have any idea how close I was to forfeiting my crown and just going home."

"Forfeiting, why would you have to do that if you went home, and why are you here in the first place. Lord Tubbington wouldn't tell me. He said that you would if you wanted too."

"Well, I guess my tale starts at the beginning of time, when the Pari and the Enchanted Forest found each other. The Forest is a living entity that only allows us to live there if we don't harm it."

Rachel saw that Brittany looked confused. Most humans were confused. They never thought that forests were alive, and to be fair only the Enchanted forest is.

"Have you ever heard of crop failure, and famine Brittany?" At her nod Rachel continued, "That's caused by the Enchanted Forest. When anyone excessively hurts or tries to destroy the forest it retaliates. That's why in recent years farming has been better, with more food produced. Humans have been working with the Pari to save the Forest. That's not the point though. The point is that the Forest requires a ritual to be passed before it will allow someone to rule it. The problem for me is that the ritual requires a partner."

Brittany butted in, "That doesn't sound so bad. You'd have someone to help you rule."

"That's what I thought. Each person, Human or Pari, has one person out there for them; a mate. Humans normally call them soul mates."

"Hey! Me and San are soul mates. I totally know what you mean."

"Ahem, may I continue."

Brittany shook her head yes while miming zipping her lips.

"As I was about to say, the Pari can use their magic to find their mate. It's very long and tedious so most don't do it, but my parents have had seers looking for years now. Being the Princess it's imperative that I find my mate sooner rather than later. In only eight months I will have to perform the ritual or forfeit my crown. The seers thought my mate was one of my own people so we spent a lot of time looking in the Forest. It wasn't until three months ago that they were able to narrow it down to Lima. I happened to find my mate the first day of school."

At this Rachel stopped speaking and looked at her lap. All she could think of was the horrible things that Quinn had done to her in two short months. She had gone from an optimistic outspoken Princess, to a timid fearful highschooler. Sure she was still out spoken in class and at home, but only when an adult was present to protect her. She had seen evil in the world and it frightened her. The fact that it was her mate made it a million times worse.

Brittany reached out and gave Rachel another hug. "It's Quinn. Isn't it? I see you stare at her when no one is looking. You look so sad it breaks my heart. No more worries though. I am going to help you through this, and if you're under my protection no one will hurt you. The number one rule at McKinley is to never make me sad, or Santana will kick their ass."

Brittany smiled triumphantly like she had just cured world hunger.

"What if Santana is the one who's hurting me? Will the number one rule stop her too? I just…. It's just hard Brittany," Rachel finally broke down after two months, "You don't even know half of what they do. You're not there. They're not going to stop. They're going to hate me more now that you're my friend. I really should give in now before things get worse."

Brittany grabbed Rachel by her shoulders and held her so she would look at the blonde, "No you listen to me. Me and Lord Tubbington are going to help you. Together we can get though anything okay."

Rachel wiped her eyes before nodding, "Okay."

"Now how about some ice cream and a movie"

* * *

The next day before school Brittany stopped to pick Rachel up.

"If you're riding with me then that'll let everyone know you're mine. Plus I'm going to be walking with you to all of your classes, so you'll have to wait for me." Brittany told the shorter girl as she got into the car unknowingly echoing Quinn and Santana.

Rachel just nodded. She was dreading the coming day despite Brittany's assurances that it would be better. She was surprised when she got to school and no one said a word to her. Sure they all stared but no one had called her a name in the five minutes it took her to reach her locker. It was the longest time she had been in the hallway without being taunted. Little did she know that the student body had been conditioned from elementary school to not say bad things around Brittany. If she even

The day was the best one Rachel had ever had at McKinley. The looks were a little discerning, but if it meant no nasty comments she'd deal. The only looks that got to her were the glares from all the Glee club members, especially Quinn and Santana. She had tried her best to be their friends, but they just wouldn't go for it. They didn't like when she sang, or when she talked, or when she sat quietly. No matter what she did they still thought she was better than them. Thankfully, at least for a little while, they couldn't tell her how irritating they thought she was.

The peace lasted for less than a week. On Friday Brittany got called into the office and wasn't able to walk Rachel to her next class. Apparently her teachers had reported the blonde tardy one to many times.

Rachel decided that she would brave the crowd after Brittany hadn't shown up three minutes after the bell. She'd only have two minutes to get to class, so hopefully nothing would happen. She could see her classroom at the end of the hall when someone grabbed her arm and drug her to the bathroom.

Rachel knew instantly who was holding her. She could feel such intense heat and shocks coming through that one point of contact. Her last thought before Quinn thrust her against the wall was, 'I can't believe I'm going to die before I can feel what it's like to kiss her. I bet it's like fireworks.'

Quinn roughly threw her into the wall. She felt the same things that Rachel did, but she didn't like it. Rachel hit the wall with enough force to wind her, and she slid down into a heap on the floor. She looked up at Quinn with a pained expression. That had hurt.

"You're going to sit there quietly and wait until I tell you otherwise. There is no Brittany to protect you, and this will not get back to her if you know what's good for you." Quinn stated calmly as she paced to the other side of the room. It appeared to Rachel as if she were trying to get as far away from her as she could.

Rachel opened her mouth to tell Quinn that she understood, but Quinn glared at Rachel and the brunette changed her mind. She was scared waiting there on the cold floor. She had no idea what was going on, or what Quinn was capable of doing to her.

The bell rang and five minutes passed before the door opened. Rachel didn't even move her head to look at who had entered. She hadn't moved a muscle since Quinn had glared at her. Quinn had already demonstrated that she would use force on the petite girl. Rachel didn't want to risk anymore. She still wanted to keep some illusions about the girl she was supposed to spend the rest of her long life with, though those illusions were fading fast.

"What's with RuPual?" Santana asked as she breezed into the bathroom.

"She's just doing what she's told. Aren't we Berry." Quinn replied.

Rachel didn't say anything or even move her head to look at the two girls. Now that she knew Santana was the one that entered the room she felt sick. If anyone was going to kill her it was going to be Santana.

Rachel regretted a lot of things she hadn't done before today, like tell her parents she loved them, or tell Brittany that she was her best friend, or even say goodbye to Jessie. Despite the fact that she had been alive longer than the two girls in the room she had yet to experience the most basic life experiences that they took for granted. Her first Rachel wished she had done before being stuck in the bathroom with Quinn and Santana.

Quinn walked over and squatted down so she could talk to Rachel directly. She grabbed her chin and gently turned her head so the princess could look Quinn in the eyes.

"Rachel," Quinn started wiping at the tears on Rachel's face, "I know this seems scary, but we had to take drastic measure. Brittany wouldn't let us get close to you, and we all need to talk."

"Yeah, so man up man-hands. We're not going to hurt you unless you deserve it." Santana interjected from somewhere behind Quinn.

Rachel dared to look at Santana as she paced along the sinks. This abrupt turn in emotions was confusing her. Now she had no idea what was going to happen, and that scared her more than thinking she was going to die. The possibilities were endless.

Quinn stood up and reached out her hand, waiting for Rachel to take it. Rachel just sat there staring dumbly at it. Rachel had never touched the blonde voluntarily, she was always the one receiving the contact. The princess didn't want her first time to reach out and touch her mate to be now. She wanted it to be when Quinn actually liked her, but Quinn had been nice a few seconds ago. Does that mean it would be okay for to take the blondes hand?

Rachel had obviously taken too much time deciding what to do because Santana stormed over and grabbed her arm, dragging the small girl to her feet.

"Let's move it. We only have a couple more minutes to pull this off." She said, pulling Rachel out of the bathroom.

Quinn followed behind, trying to puzzle out why Rachel hadn't taken her hand. Then she spent time trying to figure out why it hurt so much that she hadn't.

Santana pulled Rachel all the way out to the parking lot before Rachel started to struggle. It was one thing for them to hold her hostage on campus; Brittany was somewhere near after all. Leaving was a whole different matter though.

"Please, I'll leave her alone. I'll go away and you'll never have to see me again. I promise. Just, please just don't kill me. I didn't even say goodbye to my parents." Rachel begged fully crying now. She knew it was irrational, but Brittany had been playing like they were in an action drama all week. There had been covert meetings, constant bodyguards, and Brittany's crazy plots.

Santana sighed, and Quinn turned around to look at Rachel, "Oh my god, I can't believe you really think we're going to kill you."

"Yeah, we'd have nowhere to dispose of the body," Santana chimed in from the driver's seat.

Rachel calmed only a little bit. Tears were still running down her cheeks, but she was no longer begging for her life. Quinn couldn't understand why it hurt her so much to see Rachel cry. She had been okay with the plan as they were making it, but she never expected Rachel to burst out in tears. Quinn also didn't understand why she still found Rachel cute when her eyes were all puffy and her face was all red.

When they reached Quinn's house, Quinn helped Rachel out of the car making sure to be very gentle. Her feelings were confusing, but she knew that she didn't want Rachel to fear her anymore. This whole ordeal had been an eye opener for her. How could she look herself in the mirror if someone legitimately thought she would kill them? Add in the fact that it was Rachel, and well Quinn was rethinking things. Now she just had to talk to Santana.

Quinn led Rachel up to her room and gently pushed her in before shutting the door. Once the door was closed she looked over at Santana who was giving her a what the fuck look. Quinn gestured towards the stairs. She felt sure that Rachel would be waiting for her just inside the door when she went back. The smaller girl was clearly terrified, and Quinn was going to use that to her advantage.

"Santana," Quinn started as she reached the head of the stairs, "Do you remember the plan?"

Santana rolled her eyes, "Duh Q. We planned this for two days straight."

"Yeah well, I think I want to change it." Quinn held up her hands signaling to the Latina to let her finish, "You'd still get Britt back, but I think I kinda want to keep the hobbit."

Quinn looked down and rubbed her arms. She knew that she wasn't acting like herself, but the small girl had gotten to her today.

"I know you don't care for her much, and I don't either," Quinn paused, "She just makes me feel something. Something I've never felt before, guilt, and a whole bunch of other things. Just let me go in there by myself and talk to her. You go find Britt and keep her distracted. I'll call you later, and let you know how everything goes."

Santana puts a hand on Quinn's shoulder, "You know I don't really hate her. Yeah she's annoying, loud mouthed, and somehow managed to wrap Britt around her little finger; but you go do what you have to. I'll stand behind you, and if you ever tell anyone about this I will cut you."

Quinn just shook her head as she watched Santana saunter out of the house. She really needed to stop underestimating that girl.

Rachel was trying to work up her courage. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Being a Princess you would've thought someone had attempted to kidnap her before, but no. These two teenagers scared the shit out of the tiny diva, and it frustrated her. How was she ever supposed to build a relationship with Quinn if she was afraid of her?

Rachel cringed when she heard the door open, and mentally chastised herself. She really needed to get a grip on things. The tiny diva straightened to her full height and squared her shoulder, "Quinn I will not stand for this. I am a person and I demand that you treat me as such. Furthermore..."

"Shut up Rachel. I'm going to do the talking and you're going to do the listening."

Rachel felt this pressure build up in her chest. The torment that she had endured for two months came back to give her strength. She stalked towards Quinn, with her magic giving her an almost tangible aura. Quinn's eyes widened as she backed up, her back hitting the door.

Rachel stopped inches from Quinn and poked her in the chest, "No you are going to listen. Things are going to be different from now on. You are not going to walk all over me. That means no name calling, and the slushies have to stop. I am so sick of you thinking you're better than me Quinn Fabray. You don't even know who I am, and the rate you're going you'll never know who I am."

Quinn was breathing heavily, and her pupils were dilated. She had no idea why her body reacted like this, but it was the same thing that always happened when Rachel was close. Normally she had others around to help curb her desires, but now they were alone. Quinn only fought the urge for a few seconds before she leaned in and captured Rachel's lips in a surprisingly gentle kiss.

Ten minutes later when they both came to, Quinn sat up and asked accusingly, "What the hell happened Berry?"

"First off don't call me that and secondly I'm pretty sure we both passed out." the brunette stated looking sideways at Quinn.

"Captain Obvious strikes again." Quinn muttered lying back down on the floor.

Rachel crossed her arms in annoyance, "Quinn I distinctly remember asking you not to call me names anymore."

The blonde sighed, "It's just a saying. Jeeze lighten up a bit Rachel."

Rachel beamed at Quinn, that being the first time the cheerleader had ever called her by her first name. "Okay, sometimes I don't know half of what anyone is saying. It gets confusing at times."

"What's confusing about it?" Quinn asked genuinely curious?

The diva shrugged, "Everything, and nothing. Sometimes people say the weirdest things, like it's raining cats and dogs. That statement is blatantly absurd, cats and dogs do not fall from the sky."

"Oh those," the blonde nodded, "Yeah I had noticed you tend to take things literally. Still, though, what the hell happened? I've kissed my share of people and I've never passed out because of it. What did you do to me?"

Quinn looked suspiciously at Rachel, who was still lying on the ground. It had felt like electricity had shot through Quinn as her lips had touched Rachel's. It made her feel so good she wanted nothing more than to do it again, but she did not want to pass out. What good were phenomenal kisses if you only got to enjoy them for a few seconds?  
When Rachel didn't respond or even move, Quinn shifted so she could straddle Rachel. It may have been the biggest mistake yet.

Rachel gasped at the feeling of Quinn pressing against her, and managed to stutter, "Wh-what do you think you're doing?"

Quinn gulped, "I was going to make you tell me. I'm still going to, but I want to see something first."

The diva looked really nervous as the blonde hovered over her. When Quinn leaned down to kiss her for the second time Rachel was dumbfounded. She had never thought the first would happen, and here it was the second.

This time both girls remained conscious during the short sweet kiss. When Quinn pulled back she shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Why do I want to keep doing that? It's not like I'm gay." the blonde frowned, not liking how her body was responding to the smaller girl, ironically battling the same emotions that had led to the bullying of the diva. Quinn still didn't know what to do about them, but she did know that she couldn't go back to not kissing Rachel. It was too addicting not to stop.

The blonde felt her grip on Rachel's arms begin to loosen, and the next thing she knew she was pushed back and Rachel was sitting up.

"As much as I do enjoy kissing you, we have much to talk about."

Quinn just nodded, unsure of what was going on.

Rachel sighed, "Quinn, I know that over the past two months you have been feeling weird. Like you want to be near me at all times. I know that this is confusing for you, and I apologize. We did not start our relationship in the correct manner." when Quinn went to object Rachel raised her hand wanting to finish, "Yes, it is not a typical relationship, but you cannot deny the fact that you seek me out every day. I would know I try to avoid you every day and found that it's not possible." At this Quinn hung her head, feeling ashamed about how she treated the small girl. "The thing is, what you're feeling is partly my fault."

At this point Quinn loudly interjected, "I knew it!"

The diva rolled her eyes, "It's also you're fault. I just make it more obvious that we have feelings for each other. Had we met in a normal, non-high school, way I'm sure we would have been friends, best-friends. That is until we finally figured out that we liked each other and started dating."

"But I'm not gay," Quinn jumped in again, her face pale at the thought.

"Of course you're not Quinn, nor are you straight. You, my dear, only have one person out there who is right for you. Much the same way that Brittany and Santana are the only people for each other."

"Wait," the blonde said confused, "You mean we're like soul mates, or some shit like that."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean." The diva nodded, relieved the blonde understood her.

Quinn looked at the small girl suspiciously, "How are you involved with us figuring this out, and why does it feel so intense? I've never felt this strongly about anything in my life before."

Rachel suppressed a sigh, "You're not the only one who's never felt this way before. When I realized you were the one, and how you treated me I almost gave up. Thankfully Brittany was there to talk some sense into me before I went home."

"Back up a minute. I think you lost me. You never did tell me why we felt like this."

"Well it's really simple," Rachel replied, "Magic."

Quinn looked at Rachel for a solid three minutes before she burst out laughing. It was rolling on the floor, couldn't breathe laughing and it frustrated Rachel. She had given the blonde an honest answer and this was the reaction she got.

When the laughter didn't stop after a minute, Rachel decided to do something about it. For every second that Quinn continued to laugh she grew smaller. It was a simple spell that would prove to the blonde that magic was real. Rachel just sat there smirking waiting for Quinn to notice what was going on.

Quinn was four feet before she realized what was happening. She glared at Rachel, "What the fuck did you do to me. Turn me back now." On any other day the glare would have been intimidating, but on a miniature Quinn was much too cute to be scary.

They both jumped when the door was flung open. Brittany focused in on Rachel and ran to her side, "Oh Rachie are you okay? I'm sorry I couldn't stop them, but I made Santana tell me where they were hiding you."

The Latina stood in the door taking in the scene when she noticed Quinn's new height. "What the fuck happened to Quinn." She asked dumbfounded.

Brittany turned and saw what had Santana confused. "Oh a mini-Quinn. Can we keep her? Please Rachie. I promise to feed her, and walk her, and play with her. Please can we keep her." the dancer had her pouty face on, but only Rachel could see the twinkle in her eyes.

Quinn sputtered as Rachel slowly nodded her head. "What the fuck Rachel. Change me back right now. I will not be a four foot pet of Brittany's."

Rachel shrugged, "Brittany's been nice to me, and you laughed at me. I'm more inclined to go with her."

Santana was cracking up in the corner at the thought of Quinn being a pet.

"And what are you laughing at Santana Lopez? Would you like to be Quinn's size also?" Rachel asked the Latina.

Brittany started jumping up and down, "I want a mini San too. Please Rachie make me a mini San."

"Ah mi Dios! I must have hit my head walking up the stairs. That's the only thing that can explain this."

"No you didn't hit your head. Rachel has magic, and we're soul mates. I laughed when she told me about the magic, and she shrunk me." Quinn growled.

Santana couldn't help it and doubled over laughing. "That's the funniest shit I've ever heard."

Rachel just shrugged and shrunk Santana down to Quinn's size.

"There you go Brit-Brit, two mini-thems for you to play with." Rachel said with a huge smile.

When Santana finally realized she was four foot she charged at Rachel. Brittany caught the fiery Latina before she could do any harm, "Come on San. It was only a joke. Rachie will turn you back to normal."

The Latina crossed her arms and huffed, "She better."

The princess didn't waste any time changing both the cheerleaders back to their normal sizes. They all took seats on the bed and stared at each other. Quinn and Santana were at the top of the bed, while Brittany pulled Rachel close at the bottom of the bed.

"Okay, I needs some explanation and I needs it now." Santana demanded, glaring at Rachel.

Rachel sighed, she knew that she still owed Quinn an explanation, but she just didn't want to have to go through it again.

Brittany noticed the sigh and nudged the smaller girl, "Can I tell it? I remember most of what you told me. You can just fill in the parts that I miss."

"Thank you Brittany. That would be lovely."

Brittany hopped off the bed and started the history of the Pari, throwing in wild gestures whenever she felt she could. The other two cheerleaders were slightly skeptical, but after Rachel's display of magic they couldn't deny it was a possibility. The bubbly blonde did well with the telling, only needing a few gentle corrections from the princess.  
When the explanation was over Quinn turned to Rachel, "I still don't understand about the whole mate thing. Brittany didn't really go over that."

The little princess shrugged, "That's because not much is actually known about it. All we know about mates it that you have this undeniable attraction to them that never fades. Being mates doesn't stop fights, or break-ups, they just kind of lower the chances. In fact only a small handful of Pari ever find their mate at all."  
"Then why is it so important that you have yours?" Santana questioned, just as confused as Quinn.

"You see, when the forest crowns its new rulers it always does it in pairs, they undergo this ritual, which unfortunately is never talked about. Well the ritual is, but not what happens during the ritual. My parents did tell me that it's intensely personal, and, and, there are no words to describe it, but with the right person it's all worth it. There was one man, an uncle of mine, who tried the ritual alone because he couldn't find his mate." Rachel stopped the explanation there, and wiped at her eyes.

"Come on midget, you can't stop at the good part." Santana exclaimed when it appeared that Rachel wasn't going to continue.

"Don't call her names, San." Brittany reprimanded the Latina.

"It's okay Britt. If she has to call me anything, that is fine. I don't find it offensive because we don't have an equivalent in Pari." Rachel calmed the taller blonde. "And to finish the story, my uncle died. The forest rejected his ritual, and it killed him. It killed him because he didn't have his mate. If you, Quinn, decide that you don't want this; that you won't go through this then I will have to forfeit the ritual. The crown will pass from my family to our rival's family. If the forest doesn't except them others may try, but my family will never get another chance."

"What do you mean your family won't get another chance? Couldn't someone else in your family do the ritual?" Quinn asked.

Rachel started drawing patterns on the bed not wanting to tell them. She looked up at them and took a deep breath, "I'm it. There is no one left in my family besides my parents. The last time we lost the crown a war began, and it took years to finish. My whole family was wiped out besides my parents. They won the throne and years later they had me. They can't have any more kids, and if you decide that you don't want me then I'll never have kids."

"Uh, Rachie you and Q can't have kids. You've both got lady parts. San told me that two lady parts don't make babies." Brittany informed the diva.

"Human females can't produce a baby together, but the forest takes care of all its inhabitants. There's a very long and painful ritual that can be performed that will make a woman pregnant. It's very hard to get right, so most don't try, however nothing bad happens if it isn't done right. If Quinn decides that this is something that she wants to do, be my mate that is, then we would eventually perform the childbirth ritual." Rachel explained to the group.

Santana and Brittany turned to look at Quinn who had this deer in the headlights look on her face. Rachel stepped up in her defense, "Don't stare at her. She has time to make this decision, and no one gets to rush her. She has until the summer before it's actually time to perform the ritual. It has to be her decision and no one else. If it's not the Forest will know, and we will fail. I actually think I am going to go home. It is getting quite late and the Berries will be worried about me. They have been so kind during this time."

Rachel stood up to leave, while Quinn sat on her bed absorbing everything she had learned that day. After a few moments of silence the taller blonde gently tugged the Latina out of the room, leaving Quinn to her thoughts. Thoughts she never thought before; like how it would be to love a girl, to love Rachel, to live in a magical forest, to be a Queen. The blonde eventually fell asleep on her bed with those thoughts still running around her head.

The next day when Rachel went outside to meet Brittany she found the other two cheerleaders in the car. They had decided that if they were going to do this, then they were going to do it the right way. Rachel would arrive at school with the Trio, and one of them would always be with her barring some unforeseen event.

Most of the school seemed to roll with the new change. It wasn't much different than Brittany being the only one to protect the small girl. Rachel now enjoyed the privileges granted to all the cheerleaders without having to wear the uniform. Quinn and Santana were even changing since the diva's addition. There were less insults, slushies, dumpster dives, potty rolls, and bullying in general. The girls had mellowed out and the school was enjoying the reprieve.

That is except for some of the Glee club. They watched this new girl go from nothing to everything and it pissed them off. They had gone to this school for four years and they were still the bottom of the social heap. The loud obnoxious diva had only been there two months before she captured the attention of the three most popular people in school. Add to that the fact that Schue still gave her all the solos, made for a pissed off club.

Kurt, Mercedes, and all the rest waited for the perfect time to confront Rachel. They had to make sure that the cheerleaders weren't present, for how could they tell her what they really thought when her protectors were around? It took about three weeks, but Sue finally provided the perfect chance.

Rachel was sitting in the choir room playing the piano while she waited for the cheerleaders to finish their meeting with Sue. They had made her promise that she would wait there for them because no one ever went there during lunch. Unfortunately for the Trio, the Glee clubbers knew exactly where Rachel would be while they were occupied.

The tiny princess heard as more people came in then should have, but continued to finish her song. She knew that it had to be someone to bully her; despite the Trio's protection she was still not liked. The diva tried to mentally prepare herself for the abuse coming, but the song ended much too fast. When she turned around she found the four faces she had expected to see; Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Artie.

While Tina and Artie had never instigated the verbal attacks, they always agreed with the things said. Kurt and Mercedes, however, often called Rachel names and told her how much no one wanted her. Had Rachel been anything other than a princess who was completely secure in her place in the world, the cruelty of the entire McKinley High School would have crushed her. As it was she barely made it through their attacks. All she could do was hope that the Trio got there soon.

"Berry, we need to talk." Mercedes said as they all stopped a few feet in front of the diva.

Rachel crossed her ankles, and placed her hands delicately in her lap, "What may I assist you with?"

"You need to quit Glee club. No one wants you there, and you're ruining the experience for the rest of us." Kurt told her with a nod of his perfectly coifed head.

"Yeah, before you came, all of us got at least a solo or two. Now you're the only one who does, and it's not fair." Tina spoke up from her position, slightly behind Mercedes.

Rachel looked perplexed, "I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about. I've tried numerous times to get Mr. Schuester to give you the solos. Shouldn't you be talking to him?"

Mercedes got visibly upset when the diva told them this. "You think you can lie to us? You're nothing but a two-faced little whore. How else are we supposed to believe you got in with the most popular people in school if you aren't spreading your legs? I bet that's how you get your solos too." Mercedes started advancing towards the small girl, pointing her finger at her, "You're nothing but a dirty whore, and now that we know your secret you can be assured that the rest of the school will know it too . You're going to be finished here. Then you can go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and fuck up their lives because we don't need you in ours."

Rachel was visibly crying at the end of Mercedes rant. No one had ever said such mean things to her, or about her, and she was going to tell the whole school these lies. The princess was devastated. She had just started being able to go places around school by herself without being harassed. She pushed past Mercedes and ran out of the room, no longer able to take her bile.

The other three Glee members looked shocked at what Mercedes had said. None of them had expected her to go off the deep end, and none of them had expected the voice that called from the door.

"What the hell did you do to my hobbit?" Santana practically growled as she advanced into the room. Quinn had followed after Rachel while Brittany stood there with a disappointed look on her face.

Brittany placed a hand on Santana's arm to stop her from speaking before saying what she needed to say, "I am disappointed in all of you. I had hoped that convincing Quinn and Santana would help you see that Rachel isn't a bad person. She's incredibly nice, and never has a bad thing to say about anyone. Each of you right now are bullies. You're taking a girl who had nothing but love for every person she met, and turning her into someone who fears the world around her. I hope you can live with yourself because I can't. S, Q and I are done and so is Rach. We are all off the glee club for good. I wish you guys luck getting the needed members to compete. Oh, and if I hear anything bad about Rachel going around school each and every one of you will feel the full wrath of the cheerleaders.

"What the fuck did you do Mercedes?" Was all the two girls heard as they left the room. They needed to find the small girl and make sure she was okay.

Quinn had caught up with the princess before she had made it terribly far. They were at the edge of the forest that bordered the school.

"Let me go please. I want my mommy." Rachel cried as she struggled to break away from Quinn's grip.

Quinn held her tight and peppered her face with kisses, "It's going to be okay Rae. S and B will take care of the glee club; just let me take care of you."

After a couple minutes Rachel finally quieted and laid silently crying in the blonde's arms.

"Why do they hate me so much? I've never done anything to them, least of all wanted to take their stupid solos. They should be upset at Schue and not me. I keep telling him I don't want them, but he's to obsessed with winning. Why won't they believe me?" Rachel whispered trying to work through her problems.

Quinn rubbed her back, "They hate you because you're so different. They're lost in the world, and from day one everyone could tell that you have your head screwed on right."

"It's not my fault that I'm older than they are. I didn't ask for this, I just wanted to find my mate and go home to my parents." Rachel pouted banging her fist on her leg,

"I'm so sorry Rachel. I'm sorry for how mean I was, and hurting you so bad. I don't think I'll ever be able to make it up to you, but if you'll let me I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you." Quinn earnestly laid her heart out for the princess's inspection.

"Do you mean it Quinn?" Rachel asked pulling away from the blonde's embrace to look at her. "Do you really mean that you accept being my mate?"

Quinn didn't verbally respond. Instead she pulled Rachel closer and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

"Of course Rachel, I'll be your mate until death do us part."


	2. Meet the Parents Part 1

_**Part 1 of the four part epilogue. I hope you all enjoy it. **_

* * *

Santana and Brittany raced out of the choir room. They needed to find Quinn and Santana to make sure they were okay. Brittany was particularly worried that the princess had gone back to the Forest. They searched for ten minutes before the Latina found them making out in the woods near the school.

"Dios, could you guys not wait until you got home. No one wants to see that shit." Santana exclaimed once she got closer.

Brittany slipped her hand into Santana's and calmly said, "I would, it's hot."

Quinn laughed and slowly pulled away from the petite brunette, "Of course it's hot B. It's me and my girl."

"Your girl? So it's official now Q?" Santana asked, pleased that the blonde had pulled her head out of her ass. They had been hanging out with Rachel for a couple weeks, and the Latina found her less unpleasant than she would have thought.

"Yeah, I finally realized that I couldn't live without Rach in my life." Quinn said kissing Rachel again.

Suddenly a voice came out of nowhere. "While that is lovely to hear, we have somewhere to be."

"Holly shit! What are you?" Santana yelled.

"Lord Tubbington, what are you doing here?" Brittany asked ignoring her girlfriend.

"Lord Tubbington, isn't that your cat?" Quinn asked confused. She was just as startled by this creature's appearance as Santana was, though she noted that Rachel did not seem to be surprised.

Rachel got up off the ground, "Where did we need to go seer?"

"Why, we must go to Adohi. It is time that the people met their future ruling body." The Cat said as he turned to walk into the Forest.

"Don't you mean meet the future rulers?" Quinn asked confused.

Rachel touched Quinn's arm, "Think about it Quinn. You and I are going to rule because I am the princess and you're my mate, but would we really want to spend are lives without them?"

The blonde looked at her two friends who both seemed confused, "I guess you're right. I would want my bestie to be there with me, and of course Santana too, but isn't he jumping the gun a little. No one has even asked them if they want to live with us. I mean I agreed to it when I accepted being your mate, but they could still have a normal life."

Brittany started violently shaking her head, "Whoa that made me dizzy," Santana steadied the ditzy blonde, "Anyway, Lord Tubbington is a seer. That means he sees the future, so if he says we'll be there then we'll be there."

Santana scuffed her foot on the ground, "Besides, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life without you either, and Brittany seems to fit in Rachel's world. I mean she even lives with a Forest create. Which by the way, how come you never told us about that?"

"I did tell you guys, but you wouldn't listen." Brittany said with a pout.

"Ahem, I do believe we have somewhere to be. Princess if you would do the honor of taking us to your home it would be most welcome. I have only traveled there once many eons ago." Lord Tubbington said as he grew wary of chatter.

"Of course I will seer, but you must be patient with me. I have never done this before. You all have to take my hand and think of me. If you break concentration you could get sent somewhere weird so just think of me okay."

Everyone nodded and took Rachel's hand. The princess shut her eyes and concentrated heavily on the task before her. Slowly a soft light started emitting from Rachel's chest, about where her heart should be. The light grew both in size and intensity and began to enclose the rest of the group. The light was blinding to the others, and just when they thought they couldn't handle it the light abruptly stopped.

Rachel gasped and fell to her knees, "That is a lot harder than just moving and resizing myself."

"Resizing?" Quinn asked as she opened her eyes, "Oh wow, is this where you grew up? This is fantastic."

"Yeah Rachie, this is awesome!" Britt chimed in as she spun in a circle.

Santana shrugged, "Meh, I've seen better."

Everyone stared at her, but she just looked off into the distance.

"Is that your parents?" the Latina asked?

Rachel squealed and ran towards the couple that was walking down the hallway, "Mom! Dad!" She yelled seconds before she threw herself in their arms.

"Oh baby we have missed you," her mom gushed as she gathered the princess into a hug.

"Who are your friends?" her ever practical father asked?

"Oh Mommy, Daddy this is my best friend Brittany and her girlfriend Santana. This is Lord Tubbington, who has been living with Brittany for several years now apparently waiting for me. And… This is my mate Quinn." She said pointing them out in turn.

The tall man wrapped his daughter in a one-armed hug. He nodded to each one of the girls in turn, having already heard about them. Her mother however wrapped each of them in a hug, including Lord Tubbington.

"I'm so glad all of you are here. I can only assume from what Rachel has said that this is a good sign. Please why don't all of you come into the sitting room? I'm sure we'd all be more comfortable there." The exuberant woman said as she led the way with towing Rachel.

Quinn held back when she noticed that Rachel's father motioned her to. The blonde was afraid of what the imposing man had to say; she had mistreated his daughter for months.

"Rachel is going to berate me for this, but I feel that it is very important. If my daughter ever comes to me crying because of you there will not be a body for your family to find. Do you understand me?"

Quinn gulped and nodded her head. She heard the man loud and clear and no intention of ever hurting the small brunette again. Quinn had stopped fighting her feelings and was going to finally let herself treat Rachel like she wanted to from the beginning.

The duo slipped into the room only moments after the rest of them had settled. Rachel gave her daddy a glare and pulled Quinn down on the couch next to her.

"As nice as it is to have you all here I have to ask what brought this on? We weren't expecting Rachel to visit for a couple weeks." the older woman asked a little perplexed.

All the girls looked to Lord Tubbington, who had turned back into his cat for to sun himself on the balcony ledge.

"Well, Momma, Lord Tubington showed up right after Quinn fully accepted what being my mate meant and told us the it was time for the kingdom to meet its ruling body." Rachel said when Lord Tubbington didn't move to answer.

"Ruling body?" her dad asked confused.

"Yes, we talked it over, and honestly I can't imagine not having Brittany or Santana in my life. The feel the same way, and Lord Tubbington saw all four of us ruling. I know that it's never been done before, but I've seen examples of it in the human history course I had to take. I can already see where they would fit in" The princess told her parents.

They spent the next three hours talking about anything and everything. The three cheerleaders learned more about the princess and her land, while the Adohian's learned new things about cheerleaders. The adults also shared the ups and downs of running a country. It was decided that having Brittany as the Human ambassador and Santana as the (rarely used) war general. Both girls loved their prospective places, and the current rulers agreed that it fit their personalities.

The girls contacted their parents and spent the night with the Pari. The explored the city and met the people. Everyone was excited to meet the future rulers, just as Lord Tubbinton had Saw. The four girls returned to the Human world the next day stoked about their future.


	3. Meet the Parents Part 2

That weekend the four girls combed the mall. They had seen the princess's huge wardrobe, and it was the first time they realized that she didn't have a bad fashion sense. Rachel just didn't know what was appropriate for Humans, and only had two very gay men to show her the way.

The girls came back to Rachel's house after hours at the mall. They now had a large collection of outfits that would show off the best of the brunette. It consisted of only skirts and dresses, and if pressed Quinn would just glare. She wasn't going to admit that she loved looking at the girl's legs. She in no way orchestrated major distractions around the pants section. That was her story and she was sticking to it.

Monday morning saw the four girls getting out of Santana's car. They were prepared for the worst. Sure Brittany had given the other glee members a verbal beat down, but none of them knew what they would be walking into. Unbeknownst to the others Rachel had decided that today things would be settled one way or the other. The gloves had finally come off. She was no longer worried about if her mate would decide to stay with her. That meant she no longer had to censor herself. Heck, the only reason she was still going to the stupid school was to spend more time with Quinn.

The three Cheerios were in awe of the small girl as she moved down the hall. People were throwing themselves against lockers to get out of her way. She was putting out a vibe that they had never experienced before. Quinn didn't know what had changed, but she felt that this dominant Rachel was sexy.

Rachel bypassed her locker and headed straight for the quartet surrounding Mercedes locker. As she walked towards them Kurt stepped forward and attempted to apologize, "Rachel, I'm sorry about what happened Friday. The way it happened was uncalled for, even though some of it still applied."

Rachel stared at the boy before shaking her head, "Okay, I understand that you guys don't like me. Personally I don't see why because I'm awesome, but whatever this isn't about that. This is about how things are going to be from now on. Each of you will keep your opinions of me to yourself. I don't want to hear them, or about them. I don't care how much you hate me; you will keep it to yourself. In return I will forcefully make the unbearable Schuester give you solos. I have tried numerous times in the past to make this happen, but you have never seen it because I, unlike some, was taught manners by my parents. One of the fundamental rules was that you critique someone in private where only they can hear. As you did not extend me that courtesy on Friday, I have not extended it to you today. You will do as I say, or you will not like what happens. That is all, you may return to your day." With that the small brunette spun around and walked back to her locker leaving seven flabbergasted teens.

"What the hell just happened?" Mercedes asked.

"I don't know," Quinn told her, "but she had one thing right. If any of us hear you or about you talking bad about Rachel you won't like the consequences. We will make your life a living hell, and you know that we can."

Quinn glared at the four until they all nodded their acceptance before walking over to her mate. She got closer and placed her hand on the small of Rachel's back as she stepped around her. "You know that nothing will have changed, don't you?" She asked the girl.

Rachel shrugged as she got her books out, "I know. I dealt with something like this when I actually went to school. They thought that because I was the Princess I thought that I was entitled to everything without working. They judged me without knowing me, and I allowed it for a while. I thought I could prove myself and change their opinion. Unfortunately it did not work. They did not see my success as my hard work, but rather as freebies from our professors. Finally I stepped up and did what I was born to do, tell people what to do. I had to make examples of a few people, but when they stopped talking about me they started seeing me. By the time I finished school all the people who hated me liked me, though I never trusted them. I feel it will be the same here."

"So what are you going to do to them if they don't do what you want?" Santana asked.

A huge grin split Rachel's face, "Why I'm just going to have to use a little magic. As you all are aware, I am not averse to using my powers to get my point across. For them it will be subtler than shrinking, but it will be effective."

Santana shared an evil smile with the girl. The more she got to know Rachel the more she liked the girl.

* * *

Rachel's tactics worked surprisingly well, up until Glee that is. Kurt, Tina, and Artie all seemed to accept what they had been told and genuinely felt sorry about what had happened on Friday. Mercedes on the other hand was a completely different story. She couldn't fathom how Rachel's popularity had shot up so fast. The more she watched the small girl move through the halls as if she owned them, and everyone else letting her, the more upset she became.

The girl really did try to keep her mouth shut. She knew that the Cheerios threat was real and that her life would be hell. As soon as she walked into Glee that afternoon she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself. All of her friends were surrounding the infuriating girl and didn't move when she walked in the room. Even Kurt's response was a small wave before he went back to his conversation. That hurt worse than anything else. It was supposed to be her and Kurt against the world and here he was abandoning her. That just wouldn't fly.

When Mr. Schue asked if anyone had a song they wanted to sing, Mercedes was the first up. She had something to say to Rachel, and the perfect song to say it. The band and Brad started playing the opening bars to Janet Jackson's Control, and the dark skinned diva smirked. She knew she was playing with fire, but she was not going to take this lying down.

When she finished the song Rachel was the only one to clap. The others knew about the warnings and waited with baited breath to see what would happen now.

"That was fantastic Mercedes. You're control was fantastic and the feeling behind the song was superb. I do believe we have our solo for Regionals. What does everyone else think?" Rachel asked as she stood up.

Mercedes looked dumbfounded so Rachel took pity on her, "Look Mercedes, it's like I told you earlier. If you follow my very simple rule of not speaking badly of me, then I will make sure that everyone here gets a chance to shine this year." Rachel looked over at Schue who looked slightly taken aback. "And I do mean that. I will not have a major part in the following competitions. I have a set plan for my future and it does not include singing, though I am good at it. Therefore I will quadruple my effort to make sure that everyone shines. I will also help those who ask for it because despite not wanting to make this a career I do have extensive training. Do you understand and believe me Mercedes?"

Mercedes mutely nodded her head before going back to her seat. If the smaller girl really meant what she said then maybe this wouldn't be so bad, but if she didn't Mercedes would let all hell break loose.

* * *

Several weeks passed and Rachel was true to her word. Mercedes had the solo, while Kurt and Tina belted out the duet at regionals. Everything was going great, well for now. Christmas break had finally arrived, and Quinn decided that now was the time to tell her parents. She knew it wouldn't go very well, and she was scared. Santana and Brittany had told their parents over Thanksgiving break. Brittany's family hadn't batted an eyelash, claiming to have known forever. Santana's parents were a different story and kicked the girl out before she even finished. Santana had moved in with the Berry men for the remainder of the year, and Quinn was afraid that that would be her fate too.

It was the first day of the break and the sun was shining. Perversely Quinn wished that a blizzard would hit. It would more accurately match the way she felt. The blonde had decided to get this done with quickly so she would have the rest of the break to recover from the heartbreak. Rachel was coming over at five and Quinn was anxiously counting the hours. She just wanted this to be over.

Five came around very slowly, but as soon as Rachel arrived Quinn felt like she blinked and it was six. Dinner had been served at six at the Fabray house for as long as Quinn could remember. Quinn could barely eat she felt so nervous.

Finally after only fifteen minutes she set her fork down and cleared her throat, "Mom, Dad I have something to tell you. It's something very important to me, and something that I am not willing to change. This year has come with a lot of hurdles that I have painstakingly made my way through and I feel that I have come out stronger. So, I am just going to say this; I am gay. I am gay, and Rachel is my girlfriend."

Russell Fabray stood up so fast from the table that his chair slammed backwards into the floor, "No daughter of mine is going to be a vile disgusting homosexual. You will get out of this house right now before you defile it any longer. You are no longer a Fabray. You disgust me."

Quinn sat there with tears streaming down her face. Rachel had to bite her tongue to not speak as Quinn had asked. All the small brunette could do was hold her girlfriend in her arms.

None of them saw Judy stand up, "Russell Fabray that is enough. You will stop right now. That is not how you will speak to your daughter in my house."

"Damn straight I wouldn't talk to my daughter like that. That vile heathen sitting across the table is not my daughter." Russell said turning to his wife. The girls were sitting there confused now as they watched the conversation play out.

Judy simply nodded her head, "I thought that was what you would say. I am sorry about this Russell. I do love you, but I love my daughter more. I would like you to leave tonight. You can come back later, when Quinn is not here, to get your things. I am afraid that if you cannot accept your daughter then we will no longer work."

Russell turned red before storming up to his room to pack a bag. Moments later he slammed the front door as he left the house.

"I am sorry about that dear. I do want you to know that your father does love you, he just…"

"It's okay Mom. I knew he would react like that. It's why I wanted to get it over with. I just… I just never thought you'd be okay with it." Quinn said as the tears slowly stopped forming. She had truly never thought her mother would be okay with it. Her father had never been shy with expressing his opinion and Judy had never once said anything against it.

Judy shrugged before resuming her dinner, "I have a cousin who is gay, and we were best friends growing up. I still talk to her every week. I love your father despite some of his more ridiculous ideas. I overlooked them when they had no impact on our lives, but now that they do I cannot tolerate them. You are the light of my life Quinn, and I would do anything to make you happy. It's been quite obvious to me that you have been happier lately, and I am glad that you have found someone regardless of their gender. So Rachel tell me about yourself."

Rachel slowly began telling Judy about herself. The princess had made a snap judgment that Judy would be okay with all she had to say. Rachel dove into the history of her people and her own personal history. Quinn slowly calmed down and joined in the conversation when she could. By the time the evening was over Judy knew everything there was to know about the Pari, Rachel, and the princess's relationship with her daughter. It was a little overwhelming, but with a small display of magic Judy began to accept everything she had been told. She had always wanted the best for her daughter, but never thought that she would one day be a queen.


	4. The Bridge

Hello everyone. Sorry about the long wait. I've been really busy and the upcoming part is very difficult to write. I had wanted it to be included in this update, but it demands it's own chapter. Anyway please enjoy this while I go write the next to the last chapter. That's right, there are only two chapters left.

* * *

"What is he doing here?" Santana hissed as she paced around the back of the stage.

Rachel peered around the taller girl spotting the blonde man in the front row, "I don't know, but this isn't going to be good. There is no way that Quinn won't see him."

"See who," the shorter blonde asked as she and Brittany approached their girlfriends. When the brunettes gave her a pained look she pushed passed them to see her father front and center for one of the biggest days in her life.

"What is he doing here?" she growled balling her hands into fists. "Everything has been going great, and he just has to show up. Why the fuck can't he leave me alone."

The other three stood gaping at Quinn not expecting the outburst from the normally reserved girl. She was right though, life had been smooth for the past couple months. School had eventually accepted the four and Quinn's mom got along swimmingly with Rachel's parents. The older blonde was even planning on moving to the Forest with the girls after graduation.

"I can turn him into a frog if you want?" Rachel offered to the amusement of the others.

"No," Quinn said slowly, "Though I will keep the option open. For now I just want to ignore that he is here. As long as he doesn't make a scene I'll be okay."

Rachel was worried about what the man had planned, and decided to do some planning of her own. If something bad was going to happen she would be ready. Even if all she could come up with was a frog.

* * *

The ceremony proceeded without a single hiccup from one Russell Fabray, though Puck did provide some entertainment. He somehow changed his name so that the prompter read out Puckasuarus Rex. The graduating class went wild and cheered him across the stage. It was the highlight of the dull program. Rachel kept herself busy trying to prepare for what she could feel was coming. She didn't need to pay attention to the ceremony; she had after all graduated a couple times before.

It wasn't until Rachel and the Fabray women got home that they discovered what Russell's big plan was. The Fabray house was ablaze and someone had carved FAGGOT on to Quinn's car. The three of them stood there with their mouths hanging open. None of them had expected Russell to get this out of hand.

Rachel quickly took charge of the situation by using her magic to assist the fire department. After the flames were completely out she turned and started walking down the road without a single word. Quinn and Judy watched her concerned but got sidetracked by the police before they could follow.

The smaller girl was on a mission and nothing was going to deter her. It seemed that the angrier she got the more distance she covered. In no time at all Rachel was across town standing in front of Russell's apartment. Santana had staked out the older man to learn the address so they could avoid him. All of them involved had tried to make nice and keep a low profile to keep from aggravating the annoying jackass, and Rachel was done. She was done playing nice, the gloves were coming off.

As she walked up to the door it blew open in front of her revealing a celebrating man. The blonde man had a bottle of champaign chilling on the table and a buxom woman in his bed. Rachel barely glanced at the woman only indicating that she should leave. The woman grabbed her things and fled the stormy girl. The princess was so upset that winds were whipping around her disturbing everything in their way.

"I held my tongue the last time we met, but now you won't be so lucky," Rachel told the cowering man who was pinned to the bed by the force of the winds. "You are done terrorizing the people that I love, including your own wife. You are nothing but a spineless, worthless, scumbag of humanity. You don't even deserve to breathe the same air as them. You have until tomorrow to leave this state and never come back. If you do I will execute you for crimes against the royal family. Am I clear?"

When the trembling man nodded Rachel turned to leave the room realizing the magic that held him down. Just as she had anticipated the man leapt at her retreating back. When she calmly turned around Russell was on the floor out of breath with hundreds of cuts all over his body.

"Do not mess with me, or I will not give you until tomorrow. If you ever come near one of mine you will be over. I will not give you another warning. Leave and never come back or face the consequences." Rachel snarled leaning over the beaten man. When she turned to leave a second time she did so without any confrontation.

Rachel slowly walked back to the Pierce house, knowing that everyone would go there. She really needed to calm herself down before she was around people that she cared about. They had only ever seen the mostly happy go lucky, bubbly Rachel since that was how she felt now that Quinn was hers. None of them had ever seen Future Queen Rachel, and she didn't want to scare them.

After the forty-five minute walk Rachel had calmed down significantly. The wind was no longer whipping around her, and she was only warm to the touch. Her burst of angry magic had left her drained and all she wanted was to curl up against her mate and sleep.

Fortunately luck was on Rachel's side and she got to curl up and sleep against Quinn while everyone made plans to up the arrival date to the Forrest. Thanks to Russell everyone was going to be moving sooner than they had thought. No one questioned the princess when she got home, but later they did so separately. Her answer was always the same though…

* * *

Later

Two months later all four of the new residents had settled into the palace. The four girls had neighboring suites, while Judy enjoyed a stay closer to Rachel's parents. The three adults enjoyed each other's company much to their children's delight.

The night of the ritual was drawing closer and Rachel was starting to freak out a little. She became testy and demanding, so much so that the others decided to hold an intervention. The day before the ritual the girls cornered Rachel in her and Quinn's suite. They marched her over to the couch and made her sit while the stood over her.

"Rachel, you need to calm down. You're freaking the fuck out and it's messing with everyone." Santana bluntly stated before Quinn could ease into the discussion.

"I am not freaking out any more than I should Santana. This is a very big thing, and it all has to go perfectly right. One small step and it's all over." Rachel exclaimed with a manic look on her face.

"Would it really be so bad if you weren't Queen?" Quinn asked confused,

Rachel looked around at all three of them finally starting to realize that something was very wrong. "Do you guys remember what I told you when I told Quinn she was my mate?" They all shook their heads.

"Well that would probably explain while you three are so calm. You see it isn't really about the crown. I will do this ritual not because I am a royal but because I was marked by the Forrest at birth. Most royals are marked simply because those marked are promoted to royalty. This means that there is a possibility that I could complete the ritual. All those not marked would die instantly if they tried." At the look on their faces Rachel nodded, "I see you are starting to get it. I don't have to worry about not wearing the crown. Either we pass the ritual or we die. The Forrest is unforgiving for those she feels do not deserve to rule her lands. To add to that there has never been one Human let alone three involved with the ritual. I have been running around and freaking out as you put it trying to work you three into the ritual without killing us all. This is what you signed up for when you agreed, and I am sorry I thought you knew."

Santana growled and invaded Rachel's personal space, "You just said only marked can survive, none of are marked. Were you just going to lead us to our death without a word? How the fuck do you think we're going to be able to do this without getting killed. There is no way I am letting my Corazon do this ritual and die. You can go fu.."

"San, you need to let Rachie finish" Brittany calmly said topping Santana's rant before it could begin. "I am sure she knows what she's doing. There is no way she would put us in more danger than is necessary."

Rachel nodded emphatically, "Brittany is correct. I feel that your worries are for not because you all were marked by the Forrest, you simply did not know it. I am freaking out because this has to be perfect, and it falls on my shoulders to make it so. This is the way it's been since the beginning of time. I just tend to get a little high strung," the princess whispered at the end staring at her hands in her lap.

"What do you mean we've been marked," Quinn asked kneeling next to Rachel.

Brittany let out an excited squeal, "It was Lord Tubbington wasn't it. He's the one who knew you would need us. He's the one who knew we'd be here. You've been talking to him a lot lately."

"Yes, it was Lord Tubbington who marked you. He has foreseen several of our futures. Most involve us completing the ritual, but some show us failing. I have been working with him to make sure that the later do not happen. I love all three of you, and I would not put you in harm's way unless I was fairly certain that nothing was going to happen, so just let me freak out for a little longer, and then I will be normal again."

Quinn shook her head no causing everyone to look at her, "No Rach, we will not let you freak out. Not tonight at least. Tonight you are going to come to bed and S and B are going to come with us. We are going to have a group cuddle and watch some cheesy films until we fall asleep. You have been working so very hard, and you need a break. You can resume freaking out tomorrow."

Quinn stood and held out her hand. With very little hesitation Rachel took the offered hand and followed her heart to their bedroom trailed by Santana and Brittany. If she was going to die tomorrow the little princesses wanted to spend her last night alive surrounded by her girls.

* * *

The next evening came faster than Rachel had ever wanted. This was the ultimate test, and the small girl wasn't sure if she would pass. Could her human companions triumph where many had failed before? Would the Forrest give her blessing?


	5. The Ritual

**Well this is out a little faster than normal. I truly hope all of you enjoy this chapter. The ride is almost over. Only one more chapter to go, and I'll warn you that it will be kinda on the short side (I think). And now please enjoy. **

* * *

Quinn stretched as she woke up. Today was her big day and she couldn't be any more excited. A large hand slid across Quinn's stomach and pulled her into a toned chest. The blonde snuggled into the warmth, and made a note to turn the air conditioner down.

"Are you ready for your West Coast debut?" A gravelly voice asked.

"Mmmmm, I am as ready as I'll ever be. Hopefully the reception here will be just as positive as it was back on the East Coast. I'm so glad that we were able to move out here to be by San and Brit. It really means a lot to me that I get to watch my goddaughter grow up. I don't know what my life would be like without you. " Quinn turned around and kissed her husband of three years, "I love you."

"And I love you Darling," the man replied before leaving the bed to get dressed.

Quinn followed suit and began to prepare for her busy day. If you had asked her eight years ago, when she was graduating high school, where she would be now, the blonde wouldn't have been able to guess this. After a successful trek through Yale the blonde had moved to New York to live with her best friends. Brittany had just finished Julliard while Santana graduated at the top of her class from Columbia.

For the first couple years it was ideal. Sure sometimes Quinn felt like the third wheel, but there was no doubt that the three of them loved each other. They were best friends for life in the truest sense of the words.

As Santana and Brittany's fame in the music and dancing industry began to pick up, the increased income allowed Quinn the chance to pursue something she had always loved, art. Thanks to the duo Quinn was able to launch a career as a very well-known and sought out photographer instead of the dusty lawyer she had planned out.

It was on the opening night of her Gala in New York when Quinn met him. He was devastatingly handsome, tall and dark. He was a dream come true and all he had eyes for was Quinn. It was no surprise that she quickly fell for him. It was almost as if he was made for her, never getting upset when she woke late at night needing to wander around New York taking pictures. He was always supportive and encouraged the blonde to follow her dreams no matter what.

A year into their relationship saw big changes in Quinn's life. They got married, and her best friends moved to L.A. to further their careers in the industry. Quinn was ecstatic for the couple, but remained in New York where her work was.

It was only a couple years later that Quinn received the call. Santana was expecting and they wanted her to be their child's godmother. Quinn talked it over with her oh so perfect husband and three months later they were settling into their brand new house in L.A.

Which brings us to the Gala that Quinn is freaking out over. This would make or break her career on the West Coast. She had always known what New Yorkers would like, but now she was unsure and it was killing her.

When the blonde finally made it downstairs she was not surprised at all to see Santana sitting at the breakfast bar eating what Brittany was cooking. It was odd, and probably always would be, to see the bulged belly that Santana was sporting though.

"Hey chica," Santana said spotting Quinn, "Ready for your show tonight? It's going to be great, even better than the first one."

Quinn laughed and gave her unusually nice friend a hug before moving to sneak some bacon off the plate Brittany was using. It got her a slap on the hand, but she ate her prize with a smile.

"I'm as ready as I can be. Hopefully everything will go smooth tonight and I'll sell a few pieces. I really want to do well out here. It's nice living so close to you guys again."

"Something just didn't feel right when you were so far away." Brittany spoke up as she set a finished plate down before Quinn. "It was like there was this giant hole in me and it really hurt, but now that you're here it's back down to its normal size?"

"Normal size?" Quinn and Santana asked at the same time.

The taller blonde nodded as she sat down with her own plate, "Don't you guys ever feel like there's something missing. Like there should be something more in our life? Sometimes it gets so bad that I just have to sit down and cry."

"I know what you mean," Quinn said nodding, "but I feel really bad for feeling that. I mean we have everything that anyone could ever want. We have a roof over our heads, food in our fridges, money in the bank, and we're surrounded by people that love us. I don't know what we could be missing, but I do feel it too."

"Well enough of this sad talk. We have lots to do bitches, so let's get to it." Santana said shoveling some more food in her mouth.

The next several hours were spent making sure that everything was going as planned for the evening, and dealing with a hormonal Santana. Finally it was time for the event and Quinn couldn't be more nervous. She felt like something big was going to happen, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

The Gala started flawlessly that night. It was such an anticlimactic beginning that Quinn felt silly for worrying about it. The people loved her photography, and job offers poured in throughout the night. It was almost as if fate was looking in and guiding these things Quinn's way. How else could you explain getting asked to do the promotional pictures for not one but seven different major films being produced?

Despite all the good things happening Quinn still felt like something was wrong. Now that Brittany had mentioned that huge hole in her soul it was all that Quinn could think about. Being surrounded by the best and brightest of L.A., and her best friends didn't quell the feeling that something very important was missing.

"Are you okay? You're looking a little frowny over here," Brittany said sliding up to Quinn. She slid an arm around the shorter blonde's waist and joined in on the people watching.

"I'm fine B, something just feels a little off. Nothing big though." Quinn replied.

They both watched Santana make her way towards them. At four months pregnant she was big enough that everyone knew, but still small enough to move gracefully. They both smiled as everyone unconsciously moved out of her way. The Latina was large and in charge, and proud of it.

"And what are my lovely blondes up to now? Santana asked when she came up to the duo.

"People watching." Brittany told her wife.

Santana grinned widely fanning herself, "Did you see the small brunette woman wandering around. She's shorter than I am, but Dios her legs go on forever."

"No, I haven't seen anyone who looked like that and I've greeted everyone that was supposed to be here." Quinn informed the pair.

Brittany rubbed the small of Quinn's back, "Maybe she's what making you feel off. It's weird that someone showed up without an invite. I think you should go find her, and make her tell you why she's here.

"Yeah," Quinn said nodding, "Maybe you're right. Hopefully once I find her and figure out why she's here everything will feel better. Thanks for telling me about her."

Quinn gave both her best friends a kiss on the cheek before heading off to find the mysterious interloper.

* * *

One minute Rachel was meditating in the ceremony room with the others and the next instant they were gone. They had simply disappeared, and it freaked the princess out. She leapt to her feet and tried to figure out what happened. Her powers were working just fine, and they acted as if the other three had never been there at all.

Rachel paced the room trying to figure out what had happened. She didn't want to leave the room because she knew she wasn't supposed to. The worried girl prayed that this was all a part of the test and that nothing bad had happened to them.

All of the sudden the door opened and a maid walked in. Rachel didn't recognize the girl, and moved to scold her. When the brunette reached for the maids arms, her hand went right through. The princess understandably freaked out and started really trying to get the maids attention. It wasn't every day that you became insubstantial and invisible, which she must be since the maid didn't even bat an eye.

The princess fled the room and ran to the waiting chambers. That was where he parents should have been waiting for the ritual to end, it was empty. Everywhere was empty and dusty. It was as if no one had walked the halls of her home in years. This scared the girl more than she wanted to admit, even if it was only to herself.

Rachel wandered the halls looking for anything that would tell her what was happening. As time passed she became more disheartened as she found a surprising lack of people. The palace should have been buzzing with activity, and it was practically dead around the princess.

Rachel made her way to one of the towers that faced the city. What she saw there frightened her. The city surrounding the castle was in ruins. There didn't look to be anything living out there. The Forrest had reclaimed the land, and the Pari had not fought back. As Rachel surveyed the land she turned her attention to the castle itself. It was also in ruins and showed signs of many battles. War might explain what the girl was seeing, but she still didn't understand. The land had been in a decades long peace when she started the ritual, how could this have all happened. Rachel tore out of the tower and ran all the way to the throne room. She was terrified of what she would find there.

Her worst fears were realized when she tore through the door. Jessie of the Serric family was on the thrown, and he didn't seem fazed at all by the state of the kingdom. In fact he was overseeing the removal of all the royal artifacts.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rachel screamed at the boy. "You can't remove those, they have to stay. The Forrest is going to reclaim all of the land. Where will the people live? Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

No one heard her as she screamed for them to stop. They were taking all the things given to the rulers from the Forrest itself. They were symbols of a peace they had, a treaty of sorts to live on and protect the lands. Removing them effectively nulled this contract forcing all those dwelling in this Forrest to become homeless.

Lost Rachel headed back to where the nightmare had started; the ritual room. When she got there it was as bare as the rest of the castle, everything had been stripped. She knelt in the middle of the room and finally let her tears fall. Rachel didn't know what she had done wrong, but it was obvious to her that she had failed the ritual and the Pari had paid for it.

Rachel didn't know how long she sat there crying before she felt a presence enter the room. The distraught girl spun around to confront whoever it was that entered the room, even if they wouldn't be able to hear her. What she saw shocked the girl speechless, which is quite hard to do.

Rachel's mother glided towards the girl, and gently cupped her face, "My dear little one, you should not be so sad. Be strong as I know you are, as I know you will be."

"Who are you? You are not my mother." Rachel cried pulling away when she felt the cold touch on her skin.

"Dear, dear little one, I am your mother as much as the woman who gave birth to you. Through me you are possible. Through me you will change everything. You are going to be one of the legends, talked of forever. Your legacy will span all of my life, for I have made it possible. My child, I am the Forrest and you are my champion."

"I don't understand. I failed the test. Everyone, everything is gone. How can I be your champion? How can you be the Forrest?" Rachel asked, pacing in front of the smiling woman.

"Dear one, you have not failed for you have not started. This is merely a taste of what will come to be should you fail the real test, but I have faith in you. I have faith that you will accomplish the tasks set before you, not only in this test but throughout your life. I have waited a millennium for the stars to align and when they did they brought me you. You must find your love and win her heart once again."

Rachel threw up her hands and growled frustrated, "I already did that."

The Forrest chuckled, "This time it will be different. This time it will be more important. The sun rises and the sun falls. You must win her heart before the sun rises again or you will never do the same, though I take pity on the humans. Rest easy knowing that you're failure will not destroy those you hold so dear, only your entire race." With that the entity vanished.

* * *

Quinn stormed around the party unreasonably upset. She wanted to find this interloper that had crashed her party and rip her a new one. No one crashed Quinn's party without paying for it. These little soirées weren't open to the public, and Quinn wanted a chance to confront the intruder before she called security.

Finally Quinn found the small brunette that she didn't recognize. Thankfully the woman was facing the other way because Quinn needed a moment to catch her breath. There was something heartbreakingly familiar about the woman, and the blonde had only seen her from behind. Quinn steeled herself against the unfamiliar emotions so that she could continue on her original mission.

"What do you think you're doing here? This is an invitation only party, and you were not invited."

The brunette turned around, and her smile at seeing Quinn nearly lit up the room, "Quinn, oh Quinn."

Quinn waited for the shorter woman to continue, but she seemed content at taking a moment to drink in the sight of an ever increasingly confused blonde.

"Do I know you?"

"Yes, but you don't know you know me yet. I have to remind you," The mysterious woman rambled, "I thought I had lost you, but here you are. I know everything will be okay with you by my side."

"Whoa, slow your horses. I have no idea who you are, and I don't plan on finding out. You're a lot weirder than I thought you were going to be. I'm just going to call security so they can escort you out of here." Quinn said backing off a little.

"Is everything okay?" A bright and airy voice asked.

Quinn didn't have to turn around to know that Brittany, the speaker, and Santana had found her. Quinn felt relieved now that they were there. She knew that there was nothing that she couldn't do with them by her side.

"Brittany! Santana! You guys are all together. I had so dearly hoped that even without me in your life you guys would still be together."

Quinn stepped in front of her friends, "Okay crazy lady, we're going to stop this show right now. Obviously you need some help, and you need to find it somewhere else."

Brittany stuck her hand out from behind Quinn's back, "Hi! You seem to already know me, but I'm afraid I've forgotten you."

The woman shook the extended hand, "Oh, well I'm Rachel. You do know me, but we're in a test right now that made you forget. It's okay, not your fault."

The other two were confused by the small woman, but Brittany was too occupied by the feelings Rachel gave her to hear her words. That emptiness that she had felt for so long, to one that had finally shrunk to normal with Quinn moving to L.A., was finally gone. It was as if it had never existed at all.

Quinn quickly snatched Brittany's hand back and snarled at the interloper, "Don't you dare touch her. We don't know you, and there is no test."

Rachel pulled her hand back and looked so sad it started to pull on Quinn's heartstrings, "I know that you feel as if this were real, in fact if we fail this test it will be real. You'll be stuck in this reality far from where you were destined to be, but it is not real. What is real is us. The feelings we have for each other, all of us. I have known you three for such a short period of time, but you mean so much to me. I know you felt it Brittany, felt the completion of your soul. For so long I walked around with a piece of myself missing; that is until I found you three. Please fight hard to hear what I am saying. Hear me and make your choice because time is running out."

A tall dark man with brunette hair made his way towards the group. He caught the tail end of Rachel's speech as he slipped his arm around his wife's wais. "Is everything okay dear? You three seem so serious. You guys should enjoy the party. Everyone here loves your work, their asking after you. Just relax and take a deep breath, everything is going great."

"Wait, what do you mean three?" Quinn asked looking over at Rachel then back at her husband.

The man felt the blonde's forehead, "Are you feeling okay? We can start wrapping this up if you're not."

The three women looked between the two brunettes confused before Quinn spoke up, "No, I'm fine. I think I just had a little too much to drink. I'm going to step outside for a few minutes to clear my head. Can you handle everything in here?"

"Of course," the man said before kissing his wife and heading over to a couple he knew from his visits.

Quinn grabbed the confused couple's arms and indicated with her head that the smaller woman should follow her. The blonde led them to a secluded room where no one would be able to see them. She had to admit that her husband not being able to see Rachel had given a measure of credence to a story that was otherwise unbelievable.

"You have some serious explaining to do," Quinn said once she had shut the door, "Why couldn't my husband see you?"

All three noticed the crestfallen look on Rachel's face, "Your husband? I didn't realize that you would be married. That doesn't matter though, he can't see me because I'm, well technically I am dead, or I will be. This is all a part of a quest we had to undergo to see if we were fit rulers for my kingdom. If we fail the test then I die, but you three will continue living this fabricated life."

Santana and Quinn looked at each other than looked at Rachel like she was crazy. The princess could admit to herself that it did sound really crazy. Brittany surprised them all by stepping forward and taking Rachel's hands.

She looked at her wife and best friend and declared, "I don't know what's going on, and I don't think I will no matter how long you talk about it. I do know that with her here I feel complete. That hole in my soul that I was telling about earlier was gone the moment she touched my hand. I may not know a lot of stuff that you guys do, but I know a lot more about this then you probably ever will. Sorry, but it's true. Feelings are kinda my thing, and I know that what I feel with Rachel here is complete and happy."

"How do we know that this is real though?" Santana grumpily asked. She believed her wife, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

Rachel gave Brittany a grateful smile. She had been instrumental in getting this far, it shouldn't have been a surprise that she would be the key to a successful ritual. Rachel looked around at the other two that she had to convince and it suddenly came to her.

"You're right Santana. How do you know if this is real or not? Well, I can guarantee that if this is in fact real that seeing this through will lead to all of us returning to the real world. On the other hand, if it is not real than nothing will happen. You all will continue on with your life and most likely forget about me. What harm could there be in believing me. All I want is you to believe that I am someone you care and love about, believe in the feelings that you are having. That is all I ask of and nothing more." Rachel told them stepping closer to Quinn while holding onto Brittany's hand.

Quinn gulped and finally admitted to herself that she was feeling something for this woman. Something she had never felt before, not even with her husband. It was as if the brunette was a magnet pulling her in. Quinn went over what was said and could not find a flaw in the logic. If this was meant to happen, and she was meant to be with the brunette then why not give a try.

Quinn leaned in and closed the distance before gently kissing Rachel. The familiarity of it began to sink in as the kiss grew more passionate. Unbeknownst to the couple they had been transported from L.A. back to the ritual room.

"Oh wow you guys are on fire," Penetrated the fog filled brains of Quinn and Rachel.

"I know we're hot B, but what did we say about watching?" Quinn smirked as she rested her head against her mates.

"Um, that I can't cause then it would be weird, but I meant you're really on fire." Brittany said pointing to the long sleeve of Rachel's ceremonial robe.

"Oh!" was all Rachel said before using her powers to put out the flame and then kissing her mate happy to still be alive.


	6. The End

Hello everyone, sorry this is so late. I really struggled getting this ending done. I knew what I wanted, but it just wouldn't translate to paper. It's going to be the shortest chapter in the story, and I can only take credit for half of it. If you like the second half then you'll love Cheycheybaby's work. She's the awesome author who not only wrote the second half, but inspired the whole story. Anyway I hope you enjoy the ending of a tale.

* * *

Quinn woke up to a very peaceful and quite room. She glanced at the clock and nearly groaned, it was 6:27 and she only had minutes before the alarm went off. As much as she loved her wife and the years that they had spent together, the blonde could have done without the alarm clock.

Five minutes later Quinn once again opened her eyes, but this time it was due to shock. The alarm clock had not gone off. After 63 years together the clock had rang at precisely 6:30 A.M. every morning even when they were already up. Quinn cautiously looked down at her wife, whom she was wrapped around. Rachel's face was partially obscured, but the blonde could see that she was scrunching her eyes to keep them from opening.

"Sweetie, I know you don't want them to go, but not getting up is not going to change anything. It's only going to be for a little while, and there will be lots of visits." Quinn said soothingly.

Rachel sighed and turned to face her wife, "Why do they have to go? We have perfectly nice schools here. Why does it have to be a human school?"

Quinn finally kissed her wife good morning before answering, "It's what they were meant to do love. They need to experience the human world, my world, so that they can bring our people together. It's what all the training has been for. We have prepared them and us for this moment for over thirty years. It is time to let our little songbirds spread their wings and fly free, besides now we can spend more time spoiling the others."

"Do you think San and Brit are having this much trouble? I mean these are our first babies. What if the others want to follow them soon? I don't think I could handle having all of my babies leave at once. It's much too soon; just yesterday we were feeling her kick for the first time." Rachel said breaking down into tears.

"It's okay love," Quinn murmured reassuringly as she peppered Rachel's face with gentle kisses, "It will only be for a decade and then they will come home to stay. They will be happy, and they have each other. There is no one that I would trust our daughter to more than San and Britt's daughter. They are strong and smart, and so much like their parents. They will not only be okay, they will have the world eating out of their hands in no time."

Rachel sniffed now almost completely encased in Quinn's warm embrace, "Do you really mean it when you said we could go visit them all the time?"

"Of course darling, we'll go see them so often that it'll be like they never left." Quinn reassured.

Rachel took the news well because the next thing Quinn knew she was alone in bed. Her whirlwind of a wife had practically leapt from the bed to start her day. The blonde just shook her head and tried to catch a little more sleep, that was until a pillow was thrown at her and she reluctantly got up.

* * *

"Mom!" Caden whined as her mother pushed her hair out of her face. "I'm thirty years old! I can do my own hair!"

Rachel huffed and, completely ignoring her daughter, continued to fix her hair. "I know that sweetie, but you're still my little girl. I want you to look as beautiful as you are."

"Give her some space Princess" A sniffling Santana barked.

"I'm not the one crying here Lopez." Rachel bit back. "Besides, looking your best is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Can't we all just get along?" Callisto whined as she made her way from the car to where her girlfriend was standing with their mothers.

"What the fuck?!" Santana barked out and angrily stalked forward to button Callisto's shirt to the top button. "You're giving everyone here a free show. Not cool."

"Ugh, whatever." Callisto sighed and rolled her eyes as she retreated to where her girlfriend was standing. "We're not babies anymore. We're adults and we're just going to college. It's not like we even really need to. We just want the experience so can you please stop treating us like we're starting Kaladas. We've finished our schooling, remember?"

Quinn sighed and stepped forward to intervene. "We're just going to miss you, alright? We love you girls very much and sometimes your mothers get a little too emotional."

Brittany giggled as Rachel slapped her wife on the arm. "Quinnie's right. We love you both very much and we're going to miss you."

"We're going to miss you too." The girls said in unison.

"Alright, hug time!" Rachel yelled as she embraced the two girls and felt the other's enveloping each other around her.

When they finally pulled apart Rachel laid a kiss on each girl's forehead. "Be safe and don't get into any trouble."

"Have fun kiddos." Quinn smiled warmly and gave them both awkward half hugs.

Santana sniffled and pulled them both into a hug. "Don't do anything I would do."

"Hugs!" Brittany giggled and attacked them both separately with fierce bear hugs. "Feed the duckies!"

"Bye moms!" The girls yelled as they hurriedly took off towards their dorms.

The four stood there watching their daughters head off to start a life without them. The each stood with their arms around each other. They would need the others to remain strong during the first breaking up of their family. For over sixty years they had been one inseparable family, and now they had a hole to deal with, a nest that was a little lighter.

Rachel did the only thing she could do in this situation. She broke from the group and turned to look at them, "Alright everyone, lets head home so we can begin planning our first visit." This had the effect that Rachel wanted, and the girls laughed as they headed back to the rental car.


End file.
